Improved velocipede



fitnited swa itaient cam.

FREDERICK wEsTPHAL, 0E JERSEY orrv, N wf' ERsEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF,

JOHN v; u. sPENoEn, AED ALEXANDER BEAKES, 0 sAME PL oE.

I Letters Patent No. 92,132, dated June 29, 1869.

IMPROVED VELOCIPEDE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK WEsTPn L,ofJersey City, in the county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Velocipedes, of which thefollowing is a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing,tion, and in which- Figure 1 represents a partly sectional sideelevation of a veloeipede, having my invention applied to it Figure 2, aplan of the same; and v Figure 3, an end view of the front-axle, and boxor hub-portion of one of the front wheels.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My improvement more particularly relates to fourwheeled ,velocipedes;and consists in a no el construction of'steering-yok, arranged toreceive the operatingcranks within and beneath it, in combination withthe vertical steering-spindle attached to said yoke, a braced uppersocket or bearing to said spindle, and

forming part of this specificaarrangement of the same relatively to thepole,-which' also forms a bearing to the steering-spindle.

Referring to the accompanying drawing- A A are the front, and B B therear wheels of a four-wheeled velocipede, and G the pole, which is bent,as shown, at a, b, and c, and carries the operators seat, D.

The .frontaxle E is shown as being driven or operated by cranks, F F,through suitable foot-pieces on their wrist-pins, but hand-levers foroperating the driving-cranks may, if preferred, be substituted oremployed in addition.

The bearings d dto this axle are formed in the steering-yoke G, wherebyaseparate frame for such provision is dispensed with.

To effect this, and to allow of the play of the cranks within, andbeneath it, said steering-yoke is spread and bent, as clearly indicatedin figs. 1 and 2, and connected at its upward portion with a verticalsteeringspindle, H, fitted with handles, 0 e, and havinga hear; ingwithin and through the pole; also a second hearing, f, above, connectedby'braces, g g, with the pole, to give firmness.

The front wheels A A may be said to be neither fast nor loose inthe axleE, inasmuch as their hubs or boxes, It h, are hung loose on the axle,but are driven, together with their wheels, by said axle, throughdrivers or pins, i i, which pass through either end of much as the wheelwhich lies on the inside of the curve is free to turn a given distanceindependently of the axle, thereby avoiding scraping of said wheel onthe ground,

The connecting-pole O is rounded at its rear portion, 0, to permit ofits turning in a horizontal bearing, m, made in the rear axle I, and inanother horizontal bearing, a, connected with the axle by braces 0 0.Said rear axle has no rotation on' its own axis, but the wheels B B arehung to turn loosely or freely upon it. A

By this connection of the pole O with the rear axle, said pole is freeto revolve in the rear axle, that is, in a transverse relationship toit, which allows of the back wheels tipping to either side, withoutstraining the vehicleor tipping or throwing the .front wheels into asimilar position.

The vehicle-maybe furnished with a cover -or top,

resting on springs.

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

Thesteering-yoke G, constructed to allow of the rotation of theopemting-cranks within and beneath it, andforming bearings, d d, to theaxle E, outside of saidcranks, in combination with the verticalsteering-spindle H, having a bearing in the pole G, and upper bearing,f, connected with the pole by braces, g g, essentially as shown anddescribed. Flt. WESTPHAL.

Witnesses:

J. W. Coomss, ARTHUR KIXNIER.

